On Feb. 27 at approximately 8:35 a.m., just 10 minutes before the start of the advisory period, Alton High School students and staff were thrown into a state of confusion when the fire alarm blared throughout the building. Students and staff were momentarily caught off guard as the fire alarm sound echoed in the halls. With many unsure if the alarm signaled a real emergency, or if it was simply a drill, students and staff evacuated.
“I was in my early bird English class,” junior Morgan Alexander said. “We had just started on the daily work assignment and it [the fire alarm] just started going off midway through my sentence. ”
Alexander said that her initial reaction to the fire alarm was that someone pulled the alarm.
Once the all-clear signal was given, all students who had evacuated were required to go back through the Open Gate weapons detection system before re-entering the school. This precaution affected not only those arriving early, but also students who were in early bird classes. The added security measure caused further delays and confusion as students filed through the detectors, making for a chaotic start to the school day.
This delay stretched well past the usual start of classes, causing many students to miss most of their advisory period. The extended wait to pass through security measures left students frustrated with some arriving to class well after the bell had rung.
“I waited about 20 minutes just to get into the school,” junior Aelyn Means said.
Conversations buzzed around campus, with students suggesting that the timing of the alarm, just before classes began, seemed too coincidental to be accidental.
“Originally, I thought someone might have pulled the fire alarm because they did not want school that day,” Alexander said. “But I saw an email that said it was a malfunction which makes much more sense.”
Principal Stacie Franke sent out an email around fourth period addressing what triggered the fire alarm. In the email, she explained that it was due to a malfunction, not student action, and there was no danger. Franke thanked everyone for their patience and cooperation during the evacuation, commending the teamwork shown as students and staff safely returned to the building.
“Please know that the alarm was caused by a malfunction and not by any student action,” Franke said. “There was no immediate danger, and everything has been resolved.”
With a mix of frustration and uncertainty about the situation, students and staff were left to reflect on how a simple malfunction could disrupt the school day, leaving the morning’s chaos as a reminder of how easily routines can be interrupted.
